Hayley Megan French

Within Walking Distance, The Condensery, September 2022

The Condensery, Somerset Regional Gallery
10 September - 20 November 2022

Hayley Megan French paints the streets of suburbia, homes, yards, and her memories of landscapes.

Abstracted and stripped of ornamental detail, her landscapes are brought back to almost structural fundamentals, just as one’s memory of details may become faded, subdued or obscured over time, or coloured with a particular hue or glow. French’s landscapes each take on a range of pigments that is personal and borne of recollection and feeling.

With each exquisitely honed painting, whether it be on canvas or on top a Polaroid, Hayley Megan French’s tonal range is evocative of more than the representative. She imbues each with a sense of place, marking the pleasure and significance we should feel in the daily routes we walk or spaces we dwell, but often overlook.

The Pipeline is of particular relevance to the Somerset region. Begun with her locational connection to the vital infrastructure that allows suburbs, like the one where she lives, to exist. So too is our region characterised by a network of pipelines that supply much of Southeast Queensland’s water needs. Across the country we are all united by the journey of water, as we are by land.

It is a privilege and a delight to be able to present Hayley Megan French’s work at The Condensery, particularly the new paintings of Toogoolawah and our very own building added into The Pipeline series for all to enjoy and ponder. With their own presence and colour palette, they are as unique and as special as we are.

RACHEL ARNDT
Director, The Condensery

Download the exhibition catalogue here.

For information on works available for purchase from this exhibition, please visit this page.